Car-fender.



No. 766,999. PATENTED AUG. 9, 1904.A H. W. HOWE.

OAR FENDER.

APPMGMION FILED 12213.24, 1904.

N0 HDEL. 2 SEEBTS-SHEET 1.

fbwrglMM-j I Sla-mmm PATENTED AUG. 9, 1904.

H. W. HGWE.

GAE FENDER.

APPLIOATwN FILED FEB. 24. 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

N0 MODEL.

Patented August 9, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

HENRYVl/V. HOWE, OF MEXICO, MEXICO.

CAR-FENDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part `of Letters Patent No. 766,999, dated August 9, 1904.

application filed February 24, 1904. Serial No. 195,003. (No model.)

To al?, whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY W. Howe, aciti- Zen of the United States, residing at the city of Mexico, in the Republic of Mexico, have invented a new and useful Oar-Fender, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to a novelcarfender, the primary object being to so mount the fender proper that when a person or object is struck the position of the fender will be shifted for the purpose of shoving the person or objectto one side or" the other out of the path of the vehicle.

Another object is to provide an improved form of mounting for the fender and novel mechanism for yieldingly retaining' the fender in alined or central position.

A further object is to provide the fender with a novel buffer-rail having an efficient form of cushion in its front face and equipped with antifriction-balls projecting' below the rail to prevent the fender from catching when lowered sufiiciently to contact with the rails or projecting portions of the roadbed.

To the accomplishment of these objects and others subordinate thereto theinvention consists in that construction and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying' drawings, and succinctly defined in the appended claims.

ln said drawings, Figure l is a perspective View of a portion of a car equipped with my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same subject-matter. Fig. 3 is la plan View of the same with the car-body removed, two positions of the fender being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 4l is a bottomplan view of the same subject-matter. Fig. 5 is a vertical section through the pivotal mounting of the fender. Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5, and Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the buffei'1'ail.

Like numerals of reference are employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

1 indicates a fragment of a car-body, and 2 a fender support or bracket in the form of a light metal frame carrying the fender 3 at its front end.

The specific form of connection between the car and the fender-bracket is not material, but preferably comprehends` a pair of hooks 4J and 5, rising from the side bars 6 and 7 of the bracket 2 and engaging' over the front edge of the car-platform 8, to the under side of which the rear ends of the side bars 6 and 7 are bolted or otherwise secured.

The fender 3 is in the form of a light open frame comprising an arcuate buffer-rail 9, carried at the lower ends of a pair of inclined side bars 10 and 11, the rear ends of which are connected by a peaked guard-bar 12, preferably integral with the side bars 10 and 11 and rising' to a suilicient height to act as a guard, preventing a person or other object from being' thrown back over the fender. Over the frame thus constructed is stretched a cover 15, which. is preferably stout Wirenetting, but may be any material as, for instance, braid, cord, canvas, or the like which will sustain the weight of a person without being sufiiciently rigid to cause injury to a person precipitated uponithe fender with violence.

rlhe buifer-.rail 9 (shown in detail in Fig. 7) is preferably in the form of a tube having its lower portion cut away to permit the lower portionsof a series of steel balls 16, mounted in the rail, to project below the latter for the Apurpose of preventing undue friction when the front of the fender rests upon the tracks or other surface. At the front or outer side of the buffer rail 9 is secured a frictional cushion in the form of a series of rubber or other similar buttons 17, preferably of semispherical form, as shown.

Wev now come to consider what is perhaps the most important feature of the inventionto wit, the mounting of the fender upon a vertical aXis in such a manner that when a person is struck the impact will cause the fender to swing laterally for the purpose of shoving the victim of the accident to one side or the other and out of the path of the moving vehicle.

At the front end of the fender-bracket 2 is formed or mounted a socket 18, supported by the converging front ends of the bars 6 and 7. Through the socket 18 is passed a kingbolt 19, upon the upper end of which is screwed IOO a cap or hub 20, rigid with the frame of the fender I'and preferably formed-integral with the transverse frame-bar 21, extending between the rear ends of .the side bars 10 and 11 of the fender. The fender is thus mounted to swing from the king-bolt 19 as an axis, and this movement is rendered substantially antifrictional by the interposition of a series of antitriction-balls 22 between the proximate surfaces of the socket 18 and the hub or cap 20. (See Fig.l 5.)

It is obviously necessary to normally maintain the fender in a central position-that is to say, in substantial alinement with the vehicle-and for this purpose I providev the upper end of the socket 18 with a spring-seat 23, within which are located a pair of oppositely-active springs 2li and 25, bearing upon the opposite sides of the lug 26, extended into the spring-seat 23 from the under side of the cap or hub 20 of the fender. As the springs 24 and 25 are backed by the end walls of the spring-socket 23, it will be seen that they exert counteractive pressures upon the opposite sides of the lug 26, and as said lug is rigid with the fender-frame the latter will be yieldingly held in alinement with the vehicle. The springs 24 and 25 and the bearings of the fender are protected from dust by forming the hub or cap 2O with a depending annular flange 27, surrounding the' upper portion of the socket member 18.

For the purpose of relieving the king-'bolt of undue strain when a person isprecipitated upon the fender the latter is provided with a traveling brace 28, fixed to the hub 2O and provided with a terminal roller 29, imposed against and designed to travel along' the under face of a segmental bar 30, located under the car-platform and connecting the side bars 6 and 7 of the bracket 2. y

Briefly, the operation of the device is as follows: Assuming the parts to be in the positions indicated in the full lines in Fig. 3, a

person struck by the fender will cause the latter to swing laterally inl one direction or the other, according to the position of the person with respect to the axis of the fender. rlfhis movement or' the fender is positive, for the reason that a portion of its periphery is obstructed, while the axis of the fender is constantly moving forward with the car. It, is therefore obvious that the person struck instead of being thrown violently into the fender or possibly on the road-bed in advance of the fender, as with ordinary constructions, will be shoved laterally and thrown entirely out of the path of the moving vehicle, the position assumed by the fender undersuch conditions being indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3. As soon as the fender is relieved it will be returned to its normal position by one or theother of the springs 24 or 25, since one of these springs will necessarily have been compressed by the movement of the fender and the invention appears at this-time to be preferable I desire to be distinctly understood as reserving the right to effect such changes, modications, and variations of the illustrated structure as may fall fairly within the scope of the protection prayed.

Vhat I claim isw 1. rI`he combination with a support and a car-fender; of intertting members constituting a swivel-bearing for the fender, and means mounted in said bearing for yieldingly retaining the fender in its normal position.

2.v rIhe combination with a support and a car-tender of interlitting members constituting a swivel-bearing permitting the fender to swing sidewise, and counteractive springs mounted in the bearing to resist such movement of the fender.

3. The combination with a supportingbracket having a bearing member, of a carfender having a' hub formed with a downwardly-opening cavity for the reception of the bearing member, and a king-bolt consti- -tuting an axial connection between the bear-V ing member and hub.

4. The combination with a support, (of a car-fender mounted thereon and movable sidewise, and a movable brace connected to the fender and engaging the under side of the support.

5. The combination with a car fender mounted-to swing laterally, of a swinging brace extending from the fender in rear of its axis, and means resisting upward movement of the brace and thereby preventing tilting of the fender.

6. The combination with a fender-frame, ot acover secured thereto and a hub, a plurality of bars extending to the hub from the frame, a support having a bearing member engaging the hub, and a vertical king-bolt connecting the bearing member and hub.

7. The combination with asupport provided with a socket, of atender having a hub mounted on the socket, a king-bolt extending into the socket from the hub, springs mounted in the socket, and a projection extending from the hub and engaged by the springs.

8. The combination with a support provided with a socket; of a fender having a hub mounted on the socket member, a king-bolt extending into the socket from the hub, antifrictionballs interposed between the socket and hub, a pair of`springs mountedin the socket, a projection on the hub engaged by the springs to yieldingly retain the fender in its normal position, and an annular flange extending from the hub'and surrounding the upper end of the socket to protect the bearing.

IOO

IIO

IZO

9. The combination with a bracket including a segmental bar; of a swinging fender mounted on the bracket, and a swinging brace connected to the fender and movable along the under face of the segmental bar of the bracket.

10. The combination with a fender-bracket attachable to the underside of a car-platform and havingineans disposed to engage over the front edge thereof; of a horizontally-swinging fender mounted on said bracket.

11. The combination With a fender-bracket having means of attachment to the under side of a car-platform, and provided with hooks arranged to engage over the edge of the platform; of a horizontally-sWinging fender carried by the bracket.

l2. The combination with a fender-bracket comprising side bars, hooks rising therefrom, and an arcuate bar connecting the side bars; oi' a horizontally-swinging fender carried by the bracket, and a brace-bar extending from In testimony that I claim the foregoing as i my own I have hereto aiixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

HENRY W. HOWE. Witnesses:

JNO. W. BUTLER, A. W. GOBREGHT. 

